West Australian Local Government Minister Tony Simpson has flagged an online system for planning applications for local councils in a bid to make it simpler for developers and homeowners.

But mayors are concerned it is a sign the Government plans to further erode the power of elected local councils to knock back unwanted developments.

Mr Simpson said the process would be more uniform across the board once controversial State Government plans to halve the number of metropolitan councils were completed.

He said each council currently had a different planning process, which made it hard for both developers and ratepayers who wanted to make simple alterations to their homes.

"The average person that applies to build their patio or pool, each local government is different, each takes a different time to do it," Mr Simpson said.

"One of the clear things we'd like to see is a uniform approach on planning."

An example was the 121 regulations in place for 138 local councils covering crossovers - the piece of concrete between footpath and road.

"I think some uniformity about that would certainly go a long way to helping the sector come together but also so the industry works well together," Mr Simpson said.

He said the City of Stirling had recently introduced a new system which allowed any planning and building application to be submitted and tracked online.

Once new local governments were in operation, the sector would embrace moving to such a system, he said.

"You can pay online, put your application in online, you don’t even need to walk into the front of Stirling to put your application in for a development application, which I think is fantastic," Mr Simpson said.

No legislation needed, says Minister

Mr Simpson said no legislation was needed to introduce the change.

"I don't need to legislate, I think the sector will be happy to come on board to show that they’re part of this reform, but also that they’re looking after their ratepayer," he said.

But mayors who are planning a legal challenge to the Government’s amalgamation plans say Mr Simpson's comments about further uniformity of the planning system are a clear sign it wants to erode the ability of local councils to reject unsuitable developments.

Councils for Democracy spokesman Ron Norris, who is also the Mosman Park mayor, said the Government’s plans to slash the number of local governments in the metropolitan area had always been about stripping power away from communities and local councils, particularly in relation to planning matters.

"I understand Minister Simpson last week in Bunbury made the precise comment that the future for local governments will be essentially rubber-stamping planning applications," he said.

"If that's true, that's the first concrete evidence we've had in this reform agenda about the motives which underwrite the Government's intentions.

"What we've never had is any evidence of benefit that any community will derive from reform."

Mr Norris said community involvement was essential.

"The Government doesn't seem to understand that the communities wish to decide the manner in which their landscape will evolve, and they wish to have an opinion on that process as it evolves," he said.

"This idea that seems to exist from the Government that somehow or other any amount of development is good development is not in line with my understanding of what we would call communities and local government."

The Local Government Advisory Board is due to report to the Government on proposed new council boundaries next month.